RESUMO
Anti-α-Gal responses may exert a protective effect in falciparum malaria. However, the biological role of such antibodies is still unknown during Plasmodium vivax infections. We investigated IgG and IgM responses to α-Gal in individuals with vivax malaria. Anti-α-Gal IgG and IgM levels were higher in these patients than in controls, but no significant correlation was found between parasitaemia and anti-α-Gal response, nor between this response and ABO blood group status. This is the first study to investigate anti-α-Gal antibodies in P. vivax-infected patients; a larger survey is necessary to achieve a better understanding of host immune response during vivax malaria.
Assuntos
Anticorpos Anti-Idiotípicos/sangue , Imunoglobulina G/sangue , Imunoglobulina M/sangue , Malária Vivax/sangue , Plasmodium vivax/imunologia , Adulto , Anticorpos Anti-Idiotípicos/metabolismo , Humanos , Imunoglobulina G/imunologia , Imunoglobulina M/imunologia , Malária Vivax/imunologia , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Adulto JovemRESUMO
Anti-α-Gal responses may exert a protective effect in falciparum malaria. However, the biological role of such antibodies is still unknown during Plasmodium vivax infections. We investigated IgG and IgM responses to α-Gal in individuals with vivax malaria. Anti-α-Gal IgG and IgM levels were higher in these patients than in controls, but no significant correlation was found between parasitaemia and anti-α-Gal response, nor between this response and ABO blood group status. This is the first study to investigate anti-α-Gal antibodies in P. vivax-infected patients; a larger survey is necessary to achieve a better understanding of host immune response during vivax malaria.
Assuntos
Humanos , Adulto , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Adulto Jovem , Plasmodium vivax/imunologia , Imunoglobulina G/sangue , Imunoglobulina M/sangue , Anticorpos Anti-Idiotípicos/sangue , Malária Vivax/sangue , Imunoglobulina G/imunologia , Imunoglobulina M/imunologia , Anticorpos Anti-Idiotípicos/metabolismo , Malária Vivax/imunologia , Pessoa de Meia-IdadeRESUMO
The α-Gal antigen [Galα(1,3)Galß(1,4)GlcNAcα] is an immunodominant epitope displayed by infective trypomastigote forms of Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease. A virus-like particle displaying a high density of α-Gal was found to be a superior reagent for the ELISA-based serological diagnosis of Chagas disease and the assessment of treatment effectiveness. A panel of sera from patients chronically infected with T. cruzi, both untreated and benznidazole-treated, was compared with sera from patients with leishmaniasis and from healthy donors. The nanoparticle-α-Gal construct allowed for perfect discrimination between Chagas patients and the others, avoiding false negative and false positive results obtained with current state-of-the-art reagents. As previously reported with purified α-Gal-containing glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored mucins, the current study also showed concentrations of anti-α-Gal IgG to decrease substantially in patients receiving treatment with benznidazole, suggesting that the semiquantitative assessment of serum levels of this highly abundant type of antibody can report on disease status in individual patients.